WHEREAS, America's heritage comes from its steadfast faith in God and its early belief in the rights of man; and

WHEREAS, the founding fathers, in their wisdom, pondered long over the statute by which this young nation should be governed, finally approving a Constitution at their Philadelphia meeting on September 15, 1787; and

WHEREAS, the young colony of Delaware made immediate preparation to study that document by appointing ten representatives from each county to meet in special session to consider the work accomplished at Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, after keen discussion by the brilliant minds of that clay, these representatives reached unanimous agreement that the State of Delaware should move for ratification; and

WHEREAS, this action on the part of our forebears brought the proud title of "First State" to Delaware, giving its star a position of honor in the upper left hand corner of the flag of the United States of America; now

THEREFORE, I, J. CALEB BOGGS, Governor of the State of Delaware, do hereby set aside and declare Friday, December 7, 1956, as

DELAWARE DAY

Let us take this occasion to call public attention to the great gift which our colonial ancestors provided for this nation and the world in a Federal Constitution that has stood the test of time, and which still serves today as a beacon of hope for oppressed people everywhere.

Let us display our national and state emblems on this day; let us recall the historic significance of the occasion and let us repair to our places of worship to give thanks for the vision and fortitude of these early pioneers who established peace and hope in the hearts of their people.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, J. Caleb Boggs, Governor of the State of Delaware, have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the said State to be hereunto affixed at Dover this Twenty-ninth day of November in the year of Our Lord One thousand nine hundred and fifty-six and of the Independence of the United States of America, the one hundred and eighty-first.